As with its HTV predecessors, HTV-6 is comprised of four main components – a Pressurized Logistics Carrier (PLC); Unpressurized Logistics Carrier (UPLC), inside of which is an Exposed Pallet (EP) onto which external cargo is mounted; an Avionics Module; and a Propulsion Module.

Generically, the PLCs can accommodate up to eight International Standard Payload Racks (ISPRs) for ISS internal cargo while the large UPLC makes HTV one of only two resupply vehicles (the other being SpaceX’s Dragon) capable of delivering external supplies to the ISS.

The Avionics Module contains all of the power and command & control systems while the Propulsion Module houses all of the propellant tanks and main orbital adjustment engines – including both 500 N class HBT-5 thrusters and 120 N class HBT-1 thrusters.

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Moreover, HTV-6 will debut five new updates and upgrades from its immediate predecessor, HTV-5.

The major alterations for HTV-6 include the removal of one solar cell panel, bringing the total to 48; the elimination of one primary battery, bringing the total to 6; the removal of navigation/position lights that face Earth during ISS approach operations; the introduction of a strengthened EP to hold a maximum of 1.9 t, up from 1.6 t; and the inclusion of built-in payloads for technology demonstrations.

SFINKS will test thin film solar cells while KITE will test an experimental electrodynamic tether – which will eventually aid space debris removal efforts.

HTV-6 mission:

HTV-6, delayed from September 2016 due to leaking pipes, launched atop the Japanese H-IIB rocket – developed exclusively for HTV – from the Yoshinobu Launch Complex at the Tanegashima Space Center in Southern Japan at 22:26:47 local time (13:26:47 GMT – 08:26:47 EST) on Friday, 9 December 2016.

Just prior to liftoff, the H-IIB core stage’s two LE-7A engines ignited and ramped up to full thrust – a combined 494,000 lbf.

At liftoff, the four strap-on A3 Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) ignited, providing a combined 2,070,000 lbf of thrust for a total liftoff thrust of 2.564 million lbf.

Each of the four A3 SRBs weighed 76,500 kg (168,654 lb) and carried a total of 65,950 kg (145,395 lb) of HTPB propellant.

The four A3 SRBs burned for a total of 114 seconds (1 minute 54 seconds) before they burned out and separated.

The first stage, which thrusts continuously through SRB flight, burned a mixture of LH2 and LOX, carried a total of 177,800 kg (391,982 lb) of propellant and burned for 352 seconds (5 minutes 52 seconds).

After first stage shutdown and separation, the second stage’s single LE-5B engine ignited, producing 31,000 lbf of thrust – from 16,600 kg (36,597 lb) of LOX and LH2 – for 499 seconds (8 minutes 19 seconds).

Following a 14 minute 11 second ride to orbit, the H-IIB booster placed HTV-6 into an initial orbit of 200 x 300 km, inclined at 51.6 degrees to the equator.

HTV-6 controllers will then spend the next four days conducting a series of rendezvous burns to raise HTV-6’s altitude to around 405 km, the height of the ISS, in order to put the craft in the correct position to rendezvous with the Station at 09:30 GMT (04:30 EST) on Tuesday, 13 December.

HTV-6 Payload Complement:

While upcoming resupply missions in January and February 2017 might see their payload complement adjusted following last week’s loss of the Progress MS-04/65P vehicle, HTV-6’s payload is unaffected, with NASA public affairs noting to NASASpaceflight.com that “There were no items added to the HTV-6 manifest following the anomaly with ISS Progress 65.”

In total, HTV-6 is packed with 2,566.25 kg (5,657.6 lb) of internal cargo – with an additional 186 kg (410 lb) of packaging for that payload.

All told, HTV-6 is set to deliver 3,933.25 kg (8,671.3 lb) of supplies and hardware to ISS.

HTV future manifest:

Currently, JAXA plans to launch three more HTVs to the ISS, not including HTV-6.

Under the current plan, a total of nine HTVs will launch by the beginning of 2020 – with HTV-7 currently slated to launch in February 2018 for a 60-day stay on the Station. This will be followed in February 2019 by HTV-8 (60-day stay) and then in February 2020 by HTV-9 (60 day stay).

With this, HTV-9 will be the last of the current series of HTV vehicles, which will be replaced by HTV-X beginning in 2021.

With the Station’s life extension to 2024, the Strategic Headquarters for Space Policy of the Cabinet Office in Japan’s government officially approved a plan to develop the HTV-X in December 2015.

The overall aim of the HTV-X project is to reuse the design of the PLC while adding a side hatch for late cargo stow and access while at the same time replacing the UPLC, Avionics Module, and Propulsion Module with a new Service Module that will cut the cost of HTV in half while extending its capability and increasing the amount of payload the craft is capable of carrying to the Station.

Under the current plan for HTV-X, the total weight of the craft will decrease by 1 t (from 16.5 t to 15.5 t), while 1.2 t of added upmass capability will be introduced into the system.

]]>United Launch Alliance (ULA) has launched a Delta IV rocket on Wednesday evening, carrying the eighth satellite in the US Air Force’s Wideband Global Satcom system. The rocket lifted off with WGS-8 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s SLC-37B pad at 18:52 Eastern Time (23:52 UTC).

WGS was originally devised as an interim program to augment and replace Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) spacecraft, providing additional bandwidth ahead of the deployment of a constellation of high-performance Transformational Satellite (TSAT) spacecraft.

Until 2007, WGS stood for Wideband Gapfiller Satellite. The program’s role had already begun to expand before TSAT was canceled in 2009 in favor of additional WGS and Advance Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellites.

The WGS satellites are far more capable than their DSCS predecessors; a single Wideband Global Satcom spacecraft has more communications bandwidth than the entire DSCS constellation. WGS spacecraft carry transponders operating in the X and Ka bands of the electromagnetic spectrum.

WGS satellites are constructed by Boeing, who were awarded an initial contract in 2001 for two satellites and an option for a third, with launches scheduled to begin in 2004. The contract option was converted to an order for a third satellite in early 2003.

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The Air Force ordered fourth and fifth satellites in November 2006, while the Australian government funded the addition of a sixth satellite in October 2007, in exchange for use of the constellation.

Four follow-on satellites, WGS-7 to 10, were contracted between September 2011 and July 2012, with WGS-9 being funded through contributions from Canada, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and New Zealand as the program gained further international partners.

The first launch of the WGS program took place on 11 October 2007, with an Atlas V 421 deploying the WGS-1, or USA-195, satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit. The second satellite was also deployed by Atlas, in April 2009. All subsequent launches have used Delta IV rockets, in the Medium+(5,4) configuration. WGS-3, or USA-211, was successfully launched in December 2009.

The first three satellites were Block I spacecraft; subsequent spacecraft were built to the Block II standard with a radio frequency bypass modification to provide additional high-bandwidth support for unmanned aerial vehicles. The WGS-4, 5, 6 and 7 satellites were launched in January 2012, May and August 2013 and July 2015 respectively.

The second Block II Follow-On (B2FO) satellite, WGS-8 will be the first satellite to debut an upgrade to the Wideband Digital Channelizer, which is expected to increase the spacecraft’s throughput; raising its maximum data bandwidth from around 6 gigabits per second (Gbps) to up to 11 Gbps.

Wideband Global Satcom spacecraft are based around Boeing’s BSS-702HP satellite bus. Operating in geosynchronous orbit, each spacecraft has a design lifespan of fourteen years. Fuelled, the satellite has a mass of 5,987 kilograms (13,200 lb). In 2012, the cost of the WGS-8 spacecraft was estimated at $353.9 million.

United Launch Alliance (ULA) was responsible for conducting Wednesday’s launch. Using a Delta IV Medium+(5,4) rocket flying from Space Launch Complex 37B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the mission lasted forty-one minutes and 43.6 seconds from liftoff to spacecraft separation.

The launch of WGS-8 comes a week after ULA celebrated its tenth anniversary; the company was founded on 1 December 2006 through the amalgamation of the launch vehicle divisions of Lockheed Martin – the original manufacturer of the Atlas V – and Boeing, who developed the Delta IV and also manufactured the earlier Delta II.

ULA took over the production and launch operations of both Deltas and the Atlas, its first launch occurring on 14 December 2006 when a Delta II orbited the NROL-21 mission, the ill-fated USA-193 satellite. Despite a successful launch, the spacecraft failed immediately after separating from its carrier rocket. In February 2008, the US Navy used a Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) missile to destroy the non-functional satellite, which was about to re-enter the atmosphere.

In its first decade of operations, United Launch Alliance conducted 113 launches – Wednesday’s launch is its 114th mission – with a near-perfect record. The only launch which failed to achieve its planned orbit was of an Atlas V in June 2007, which placed a pair of National Reconnaissance Office ocean surveillance satellites, NROL-30, into a lower-than-planned orbit after a faulty valve caused an upper stage propellant leak.

Despite the anomaly, the satellites were able to maneuver to the correct orbit under their own power. ULA and the National Reconnaissance Office characterize the launch as successful, however independent analysts regard it as a partial failure.

The WGS-8 launch was the thirty-fourth flight of the Delta IV, and the twenty-seventh of these to be conducted by United Launch Alliance. The remainder of ULA’s launches have been made by twenty-eight Delta II vehicles and 59 Atlas V rockets. As a provider of launch services to the US Government, ULA’s main customers have been the US military and NASA.

The company has launched seventeen navigation satellites for the Global Positioning System constellation, including both older Block IIRM spacecraft atop Delta II rockets, and the entire Block IIF series using Atlas V and Delta IV vehicles. Two Defence Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) military weather satellites were launched using Atlas V rockets in 2009 and 2014.

Missile detection which ULA’s rockets have deployed have included the final Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite and the first two vehicles of the successor Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) geosynchronous program. A pair of Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) spacecraft were deployed by a Delta II in September 2009, while an associated demonstration mission was launched earlier the same year.

Twenty-three launches have been made in support of National Reconnaissance missions, with payloads including optical and radar imaging satellites, ocean surveillance missions, geosynchronous and eccentric-orbit signals intelligence spacecraft and communications satellites to support US intelligence-gathering. Two other launches carried the mysterious PAN and CLIO satellites, for which no government agency has acknowledged responsibility.

Environmental research missions launched on behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have included five weather satellites; placing the NOAA-19 and Suomi NPP satellites into polar orbit and three Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) into geosynchronous orbit. ULA also launched the Franco-American Jason-2 ocean research satellite, atop a Delta II in June 2008.

ULA conducts commercial missions on behalf of Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Between 2007 and 2010 four Delta IIs were used to launch Italy’s COSMO-SkyMed imaging constellation. Delta II and Atlas V rockets have also been used to launch the commercial WorldView 1 to 4 and GeoEye-1 imaging satellites.

On the East Coast, three commercial Atlas V launches have been conducted with geosynchronous communications satellites; ICO-G1 in April 2008, Intelsat 14 in November 2009 and Morelos-3 in October 2015 – the latter being ULA’s hundredth launch.

Going into its next ten years, United Launch Alliance is developing a new rocket, Vulcan, which is intended to replace both the Atlas V and Delta IV. To this end, ULA has begun the process of retiring the Delta IV; with all Medium configurations expected to be out of service by 2018.

The Delta IV Heavy will remain in service until another rocket is available to replace it. Separately, the final flight of the Delta II rocket is currently scheduled for next November.

Wednesday’s launch used Delta 376. Its Medium+(5,4), or M+(5,4) configuration consisted of a single Common Booster Core (CBC) first stage, a five-metre diameter Delta Cryogenic Second Stage and four GEM-60 solid rocket motors to provide additional thrust at liftoff.

This is the configuration that has been used to launch the five most recent WGS satellites, after the first two satellites flew aboard the Atlas V. Like the rocket which launched WGS-7, Delta 376 sported an upgraded RS-68A first stage engine instead of the RS-68 that the Delta IV was originally designed to use.

First introduced on the Delta IV Heavy, the RS-68A has now supplanted the RS-68 across all of the Delta IV configurations that remain in service. The core stages of the Delta IV burn cryogenic propellant; liquid hydrogen oxidized by liquid oxygen.

Delta 376’s launch began with first stage ignition, five seconds ahead of the planned liftoff. Once the countdown reached zero, the solid rocket motors ignited and Delta 376 began its ascent towards orbit. Seven seconds after liftoff the vehicle began a series of pitch, yaw and roll maneuvers to put itself on course for the ascent to orbit. Delta flew a launch azimuth of 93.46 degrees, East out over the Atlantic.

Climbing through Earth’s atmosphere, Delta 376 passed through the area of maximum dynamic pressure, or Max-Q, 46.2 seconds into flight.

The first pair of solid motors burned out 91.6 seconds after liftoff, followed by the second pair a second and a half later. The spent casings remained attached for a few seconds, before being jettisoned in pairs 2.4 seconds apart, beginning 100 seconds after launch.

Three minutes and 14.4 seconds into Wednesday’s mission, the payload fairing separated from around the WGS-8 satellite at the nose of the Delta IV. The first stage continued to burn until three minutes and 56 seconds mission elapsed time, at which point the RS-68A was shut down. Six seconds later the spent Common Booster Core separated from the vehicle.

The Delta IV’s second stage, or Delta Cryogenic Second Stage (DCSS) is powered by a single RL10B-2 engine. This has an extendible nozzle which deployed after separation. The engine ignited thirteen seconds after staging to begin the first of two second stage burns. The first burn lasted fifteen minutes and 36.8 seconds.

The coast phase between the end of the first upper stage burn, and the beginning of the second, lasted nine minutes and 34.8 seconds. Following the coast, the RL10 engine restarted for three minutes and seven seconds, to reach the target deployment orbit for WGS-8.

The satellite separate, at 41 minutes, 43.6 seconds mission elapsed time, into a 435 by 44,378 kilometer (270 x 27,575 miles; 235 x 23,962 nautical miles) geosynchronous transfer orbit at an inclination of 27 degrees. Following spacecraft separation, the DCSS performed a third burn to deorbit itself.

Wednesday’s launch was the fourth and final Delta IV launch of 2016, following launches in February and June for the National Reconnaissance Office that carried a Topaz radar imaging satellite and an Orion signals intelligence satellite as part of the NROL-45 and NROL-37 missions respectively. In August, another Delta IV launched the second pair of GSSAP space surveillance satellites.

The launches in 2016 have used each of the four active Delta IV configurations, with NROL-45 using a Medium+(5,2), NROL-37 using a Heavy, GSSAP using a Medium+(4,2) and WGS a Medium+(5,4). The Delta IV’s fifth configuration, the Delta IV Medium, is effectively retired as the medium-class configurations have been discontinued and it has no outstanding launches.

The next Delta IV launch is currently scheduled for March, with WGS-9, which will also be the next Wideband Global Satcom spacecraft to fly.

The WGS-8 mission was the eleventh of the year for ULA, who have one more scheduled. That is currently expected to occur on 16 December, when an Atlas V will perform a commercial launch on behalf of Lockheed Martin, carrying the EchoStar XIX satellite. Before then there will be another launch from Cape Canaveral, with Orbital ATK’s Pegasus-XL rocket due to loft NASA’s CYGNSS mission on 12 December.

]]>India has launched its Resourcesat-2A imaging satellite on Wednesday morning via its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket. The ISRO launch, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, occurred on schedule at 10:24 India Standard Time (04:54 UTC) from the center’s First Launch Pad.
Indian Launch:

Wednesday’s launch, India’s seventh and final of 2016, caps what was already the country’s busiest year for space launches.

Including Wednesday’s, six of India’s launches this year were made by the workhorse PSLV rocket, with the seventh using the larger Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mk.II.

It is the third year in a row that India has increased the frequency of its satellite launches; making four launches in a year for the first time in 2014, and beating this with five in 2015. All six of India’s 2016 launches to date have been successful.

ISRO began 2016 with a salvo of three launches to complete the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), a constellation of geosynchronous navigation satellites. Made by PSLV-XL rockets, these launches took place in January, March and April. A further PSLV-XL launch in June deployed the Cartosat 2C reconnaissance satellite along with a cluster of secondary payloads.

Early September saw the GSLV Mk.II rocket record a third consecutive successful launch, deploying the INSAT-3DR communications satellite. India’s most recent launch, at the end of September, used a PSLV-G rocket to deploy the SCATSAT-1 ocean research satellite and seven small satellites.

A replacement for the five-and-a-half-year-old Resourcesat-2, this is a 1,235-kilogram (2,723 lb) remote sensing satellite that is expected to provide data to help monitor natural resources. Designed for a five-year mission, the spacecraft will operate in a circular sun-synchronous orbit, 817 kilometers (508 miles, 441 nautical miles) above the Earth at an inclination of 98.718 degrees, completing one revolution every 101 minutes and 21 seconds.

The Resourcesat spacecraft, along with the Cartosat and Oceansat programs, are the successors to ISRO’s Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) series of satellites which began launching in 1988. The first two satellites, IRS-1A and 1B, launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard Soviet Vostok-2M rockets making the antepenultimate and final flights of the Vostok series.

A third satellite, IRS-1E or P1, was constructed from an engineering model built alongside the original satellites and intended as a relatively low-risk payload for the PSLV’s maiden flight in September 1993. IRS-1E was lost when the PSLV failed to achieve orbit.

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The IRS-P2 satellite, launched successfully on the PSLV’s second mission, in October 1994, as a demonstrator ahead of a second-generation pair of satellites. These – IRS-1C and 1D – were launched in 1995 and 1997, the former aboard a Russian Molniya-M/2BL and the latter atop India’s own PSLV. During the IRS-1D launch the PSLV’s fourth stage underperformed, leaving the satellite in a lower-than-planned orbit.

Another experimental IRS satellite, IRS-P3, was launched by a PSLV in March 1996. The IRS-P4, P5 and P6 satellites, launched by PSLVs in May 1999, May 2005 and October 2003 respectively, began the Oceansat, Cartosat and Resourcesat series of spacecraft.

Resourcesat was the direct successor to the primary IRS satellites. Despite being designed for a five-year mission, it remains operational after thirteen years in orbit alongside its replacement, Resourcesat-2, which was deployed in April 2011.

Resourcesat-2A has been built to similar specifications as Resourcesat-2, and carries the same instrumentation as both Resourcesat-2 and Resourcesat-1 before it.

The primary imaging payload is the Linear Imaging Self Scanner 4 (LISS-4), a high-resolution visible and near-infrared camera with a resolution of 5.8 meters (19 feet).

A medium-resolution instrument, LISS-3, will produce images at a resolution of 23.5 meters (77.1 feet) while the lower-resolution Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS) can image a 740-kilometre (460-mile) swath at resolutions of up to 56 meters (184 feet). The swath width for LISS-4 is 70 kilometers (43 miles), while for LISS-3 it is 141 kilometers (87.6 miles).

All three cameras can operate in multiple spectral bands; all three can capture green, red and near-infrared light, at wavelengths of 0.52-0.59 nanometres, 0.62-0.68 nanometres, and 0.77-0.86 nanometers respectively. LISS-3 and AWiFS have an additional short-wave infrared band, at 1.55-1.70 nanometres.

India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) was used to place Resourcesat-2A into orbit. The rocket used for Wednesday’s launch flew in the PSLV-XL configuration, and had flight number C36.

It was the thirty-eighth PSLV launch since the rocket was introduced in 1993; thirty-five of its previous launches have been successful; its maiden flight failed and another early launch – with the IRS-1D satellite, a predecessor of the Resourcesat series – was a partial failure due to upper stage underperformance. Since the IRS-1D launch the PSLV has achieved thirty-three consecutive successful launches in nineteen years.

PSLV C36 launched from the First Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) on Sriharikota, an island on India’s east coast about 70 kilometers (40 miles) north of Chennai.

Formerly known as the Sriharikota High Altitude Range (SHAR), the facility was renamed in 2002 following the death of former ISRO chairman Satish Dhawan. All of India’s orbital launches have been made from the site.

The First Launch Pad was constructed ahead of the PSLV’s début launch in 1993, replacing the launch pads to the south which had been used for the earlier Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) and Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV).

Both the First Launch Pad, and the nearby Second Launch Pad, can accommodate the PSLV and the larger Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), although since the second pad became operational in 2005, it has been used for all GSLV launches; with the PSLV continuing to use both pads. At the First Launch Pad, rockets are integrated at the launch pad within a mobile service tower; in contrast to the Second Launch Pad where assembly takes place in a separate integration building with the rocket being transported vertically to the pad for final preparations.

PSLV is a four-stage rocket, using a mixture of solid and liquid-fuelled stages. The first and third stages use solid propellant, as do the six strap-on boosters which augment the first stage as the rocket climbs through the lower regions of Earth’s atmosphere, while the second and fourth stages are liquid-fuelled.

The first stage, or PS1, uses an S-138 motor. The six boosters which provide additional thrust during the early stages of flight are PS0M-XL rockets, powered by S-12 motors. The PSLV-XL uses PS0M-XL boosters in placed of standard PS0M motors used on the rocket’s standard, or PSLV-G, configuration.

First stage ignition occurred at the zero mark in the countdown. Four of the strap-on motors are ground-lit, igniting in pairs 0.42 and 0.62 seconds after the first stage, while the final pair are air-lit. These are started twenty-five seconds after liftoff.

The ground-lit solids were jettisoned at the end of their burn; with the first pair separating 69.9 seconds after liftoff and the second pair following two tenths of a second later. The air-lit motors separated 92 seconds into the flight.

Burnout and separation of the first stage occurred one minute and 50.48 seconds after liftoff. Two tenths of a second later the second stage’s Vikas engine ignited, beginning an approximately two-minute, 30-second burn.

Vikas burns a mixture of hydrazine hydrate and unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) – designated UH25 – oxidized by dinitrogen tetroxide. It is a license-built version of the Viking engine that was used by Europe’s Ariane family of rockets prior to the introduction of the modern Ariane 5.

Forty seconds into the second stage’s burn, the payload fairing separated from around Resourcesat-2A at the nose of the rocket. At this point the vehicle was at an altitude of around 126 kilometers (78 miles, 68 nautical miles) and the fairing was no longer be needed to protect the satellite from Earth’s atmosphere.

Two minutes and 31.28 seconds after the second stage ignites, it shut down its engine and separated. The third stage – or PS3 – ignited its S-7 motor 1.2 seconds after stage separation, burning for around 70 seconds.

Once the third stage burned out, the vehicle coasted towards the apogee of its trajectory. The spent third stage remained attached during this coast, separating at eight minutes, 41.72 seconds mission elapsed time. The fourth stage, PS4, ignited ten seconds later.

The PS4 uses monomethylhydrazine (MMH) propellant, oxidized by mixed oxides of nitrogen (MON). It burned for eight minutes and 16.54 to establish a circular deployment orbit at an altitude of 827 kilometers (514 miles, 447 nautical miles) and an inclination of 98.719 degrees; slightly above what will become the satellite’s operational orbit. Forty-seven seconds after the end of the fourth stage burn, Resourcesat-2A separated from the PSLV.

The launch of Resourcesat-2A concluded India’s scheduled launches for 2016. ISRO’s next launches are scheduled for January; with 18 January a possible date for the first orbital launch of the new Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk.III. A PSLV launch with the Cartosat-2D imaging satellite is also scheduled for the start of the year.

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By offering configurations able to handle payloads ranging from a single satellite up to one main satellite plus six microsatellites, Vega is expected to be an integral part of the Arianespace family, alongside the workhorse Ariane 5, Soyuz launcher and the future Ariane 6 rocket.

Vega’s P80 is one of the largest, most powerful one-piece solid-fuel stages ever built. Sized at just under 11 meters tall, this propulsion system has a 3-meter diameter and weighs in at approximately 95 tons. Shuttle – and SLS – Solid Rocket Motors are created via the assembly of segments.

The second and third stages – designated Zefiro 23 and Zefiro 9, respectively – also use solid propellant motors, while the launcher is topped off by the bi-propellant liquid upper stage (called AVUM – Attitude and Vernier Upper Module).

For Monday’s launch, the mission involved the Göktürk-1A observation satellite, managed within the scope of a turnkey contract with Telespazio as prime contractor for the Undersecretariat for Defence Industries of Turkey.

Liftoff of Vega from the Spaceport’s SLV launch site occurred exactly 10:51:44 a.m., local time in French Guiana on December 5 (13:51:44, Universal Time), with the launcher carrying a total payload of approximately 1,140 kg.

During Flight VV08, Vega’s liquid bipropellant upper stage – called the Attitude and Vernier Upper Module (AVUM) – was tasked with two burns before GÖKTÜRK-1 was released.

The Göktürk-1 satellite has a dry weight of about 1,000 kg and a design life of seven years. Its observation payload includes a high resolution optical instrument and an onboard X-band digital imaging system to handle data compression, storage and downloading.

From its sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude lower than 700 km, the satellite’s revisit time over Turkey will be less than two days.

The mission was the vehicle’s fifth mission at the service of Earth observation.

The Göktürk-1 program is managed by Telespazio as prime contractor, Thales Alenia Space, which is responsible for the satellite, and local industrial partners including Tai A.S., Aselsan A.S., Tubitak Uekae, Roketsan A.S. and TR Tecnoloji.

]]>Up to 15 orbital launches are set to take place during a very busy December, not counting the opening mission of the month that resulted in the loss of the Progress MS-04 cargo ship that was set to dock with the ISS over the weekend. This month is likely to include the highly anticipated return to flight of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.Busy December:

The anomaly resulted in an early shutdown of the stage. However, the Progress did separate from the stage and even deployed its KURS antenna – as planned – but was not inserted into the required orbital parameters, resulting in the craft being dragged back to Earth for a destructive end to its short life in space.

The Russian Space Agency, Roscosmos, has already deployed a State Commission-level investigation.

The mission – to deploy what will be Turkey’s first governmental satellite for Earth observation – took 57 minutes, with Vega placing its passenger into a Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of approximately 700 km. The Launch Readiness Review (LRR) was passed on Friday.

The Indian rocket is set to launch the Resourcesat 2A satellite – which is cited to be the only passenger, although a graphic of the spacecraft within the fairing suggests several CubeSats may riding uphill with the primary payload.

The launch is set to take place from Cape Canaveral’s SLC-37B, with the window opening at 23:53 UTC – with the flow receiving a boost via the milestone of a Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR) that took place last month.

WGS-8 will mark ULA’s 70th national security launch since the company was founded 10 years ago. This will be the sixth flight in the Delta IV in her Medium+ (5,4) configuration – which has been the set up for all WGS missions conducted so far by ULA.

Two days later, launch action moves to Japan.

With additional focus due to the loss of the recent Progress vehicle, the Japanese will launch the latest HTV resupply vehicle to the International Space Station (ISS), following several delays to its launch date.

The December 11 mission will set sail from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, although a T-0 won’t – as per usual with the Chinese – be known until closer to the launch date, usually when the NOTAMs are released.

The launch of NASA’s Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) spacecraft is scheduled for a window that opens at 13:19 on December 12.

Being an air-launch vehicle, Pegasus will be carried under the belly of the Stargazer L-1011 aircraft, with the duo conducting their first leg when they took off from California and arrived at Cape Canaveral on Friday.

CYGNSS will produce measurements of ocean surface winds throughout the life cycle of tropical storms and hurricanes, which could help lead to better forecasting of severe weather on Earth. The mission, led by the University of Michigan, will use a constellation of eight small satellites.

Launch from Cape Canaveral’s SLC-41 is scheduled to take place within a window that opens at 18:22 UTC. Atlas V will be launching in her 431 configuration, with the tail number AV-071.

EchoStar XIX will be the world’s highest capacity broadband satellite, dramatically increasing capacity for internet service in North America. EchoStar XIX will join EchoStar XVII and SPACEWAY 3 for HughesNet.

This launch will be Atlas V – and ULA’s – final launch of what has been another successful year.

Potentially notable is the length of the launch window, which is set to close at 20:22 UTC, just 14 minutes from the opening of the launch window for the next mission of the day.

That will involve the launch of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 for the first time since the stand down relating to the loss of the rocket during a Static Fire test on September 1.

The announcement of the launch date provides some confidence that green light from the FAA is imminent. Both the spacecraft and launch vehicle are at the Vandenberg launch site and are undergoing processing to be ready for the mid-December target.

Also launching on December 20, with a launch window ranging between 20:30 to 21:45 UTC, this mission is designated Flight VA234 in Arianespace’s launch family numbering system.

The mission involves JCSAT-15, the third SSL-built satellite for SKY Perfect JSAT to launch this year. This bird is a 10-kW satellite that will replace the N-SAT-110 satellite which is currently located at 110 degrees East longitude.

The second passenger is Star One D1, the largest satellite ever built for Brazil’s Embratel Star One, and is to be positioned at 84 degrees West for a planned operational lifetime of 15 years.

]]>The Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) launched the Progress MS-04/65P resupply mission to the ISS on Thursday at 09:51:52 EST (14:51:52 UTC). The mission was the third of three Russian resupply flights to Station this year and the first of two missions scheduled to launch to ISS in the opening 9 days of December. However, an anomaly during third stage flight resulted in the loss of the mission.

Progress MS-04/65P:

Known to Roscosmos as Progress MS-04 and to NASA as Progress 65 (65P), the Progress MS-04 mission was supposed to be a logistics and resupply run to the Space Station.

Nonetheless, because final testing of the ground station compatible with the new Unified Command and Control System of the Soyuz MS spacecraft is not yet complete, Progress 65 was to once again scheduled to use the standard, 34-orbit, 2-day rendezvous profile with ISS.

The ground station, located near the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s far east, was to be tested earlier this month when Soyuz MS-03 passed overhead after launch.

That test was to verify that S-Band uplink between the ground station and Soyuz could be received by the spacecraft. This was a needed verification step to clear the ground station for operational use.

Confirmation that that test was successful is still outstanding.

In all, Progress MS-04 was the 156th Progress mission since the program began in 1978 for resupply efforts of the Salyut 6 space station and the 67th Progress mission to the ISS, counting the two Progress flights that were not designated as resupply missions because they delivered module elements to the Station.

Sadly, Progress 65 now joins Progress 44 and Progress 59 as the third Progress failure.

Launch and rendezvous:

Like its immediate Progress predecessor, the MS-04 Progress flew atop the Soyuz-U booster.

With discontinuation of the Soyuz-U program in April 2015 for political reasons (part of the rocket’s guidance system is imported to Russia/Kazakhstan from Ukraine), Progress MS-04 will launch on the second-to-last Soyuz-U – which is the longest serving rocket in history, with 43 years of continuous operations spanning 785 missions (including today’s) and carrying a 97.3% success rate (including today’s mishap).

Prior to final launch preparations, the Progress MS-04 vehicle underwent a technical management and state commission review on 17 November – after which it was cleared for fueling with propellants and compressed gas.

Fueling operations proceeded through 21 November, and on the following day, engineers transported Progress MS-04 to the Spacecraft Assembly & Test Facility (SC ATF) at the Baikonur Cosmodrome for final pre-mate processing.

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Progress MS-04 was then secured to its adaptor and underwent a final series of overview and health checks before engineers rotated it horizontal and installed it inside its payload launch fairing on 25 November.

On 27 November, Progress MS-04 was transported by rail from the SC ATF to the Launch Vehicle Assembly & Testing Facility (LC ATF).

Final assembly of Progress 65 atop its Soyuz-U booster was completed on 28 November, and the Technical Management and State Commission at Baikonur completed its final review and cleared the vehicle for rollout and erection at the launch pad.

Rollout occurred mostly in the pre-dawn hours of 29 November to Launch Site No. 1, Gagarin’s Start, at Baikonur.

Once at the pad, engineers successfully erected the Soyuz-U booster into its vertical launch posture and enclosed the vehicle in the servicing gantry.

With a standard launch countdown, Progress MS-04/65P lifted off right on time at 17:51:52 Moscow time (14:51:52 UTC – 09:51:52 EST) on 1 December 2016 – the moment Earth’s rotation carried Launch Site No. 1 into the center of the orbital ground track of the ISS.

After rising vertically from the pad, Soyuz-U performed a pitch maneuver to place itself on an East-Northeast trajectory out of Baikonur and flew along the correct azimuth toward a 51.6 degree inclination orbit.

All powered launch activities took place over Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation.

After what was supposed to be 8 minutes 44 seconds of powered flight, Progress MS-04/65P was to be released into a two-day rendezvous orbit and was to quickly deploy its solar arrays.

However, telemetry issues during third stage flight resulted in a lack of confirmation of the success of the ascent.

Information from Roscosmos pointed to a premature shutdown of the third stage, followed by the release of Progress into the wrong orbit.

A lack of information on the status of the solar arrays and any data on the specific orbital status of the vehicle pointed to a larger issue.

This was then followed by reports in Southern Russia of a fireball and explosion, as the Progress dived towards its doom.

The crew of the ISS has since been informed of the failure.

Had all gone to plan, the following two days would have seen the vehicle perform several thruster burns to bring itself into the vicinity of the Space Station.

Flying in automated mode, Progress MS-04 would have maneuvered itself for docking with the Zvezda Service Module at 11:43 EST, 16:43 UTC on Saturday 3 December.

Progress was carrying 2,450 kg (5,401 lbs) of cargo. Among these items were several consumables that would have increased the ISS’s overall stockpile.

In all, Progress 65 would have delivered enough food to increase the Station’s supply under standard operating conditions out to May 2017 (from early-April without 65P’s food delivery).

For water, which is the current limiting consumable on ISS, Progress MS-04 was to deliver 420 kg (926 lb) of water, increasing the Station’s supply out to the beginning of May 2017 from the current supply which only takes the Station to early March.

Despite the loss of Progress 65, the ISS remains in good posture to support its crew well into 2017.

Moreover, JAXA’s HTV-6 resupply craft is set to launch on 9 December 2016, followed in mid- to late-January 2017 by the tenth SpaceX resupply mission.

Also early next year, Progress 66 is scheduled to launch in early February, followed in March by Orbital ATK’s Cygnus OA-7 mission.

Nonetheless, Progress 65 was also set to deliver five new KTOs (Russian Solid Waste Containers), three new filter inserts and 10 packages of ACY filters for the Russian Waste Management System in the Zvezda Service Module, six EDVs for the EDV + TUBSS (Temporary Urine and Brine Storage System) for the Urine Processing Assembly, and two tanks of pretreat.

Progress MS-04 was also carrying 705 kg (1,554 lbs) of propellant for Station orbit raising maneuvers and 50 kg (110 lbs) of oxygen for ISS.

All of those supplies have now been lost, with a State Commission arranged to discuss the problems that caused its demise.

]]>RocketBuilder: ULA revamp launch services selection processhttps://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/11/rocketbuilder-ula-revamp-launch-services-process/
Wed, 30 Nov 2016 15:37:16 +0000https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/?p=48042
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]]>The United Launch Alliance (ULA) has announced an innovative site called “RocketBuilder” which allows customers – and indeed the public – to build a tailormade rocket for their payload. The site will automatically configure a launch vehicle and provide all the associated costs and benefits.

ULA RocketBuilder:

Formed in December 2006 from the merger of Lockheed Martin and Boeing’s rocket production and government launch services divisions, ULA provides and operates all Atlas V, Delta II and Delta IV rockets, mainly used by the US Government – including the armed forces and NASA – but also in the commercial sector. It is about to enter its 10th anniversary.

The backbone of launch campaigns for ULA are the stalwart Atlas V and Delta IV rockets.

Due in part to geopolitical and US political considerations regarding Russian-built engines for the Atlas V fleet and also to increasing competition from SpaceX, ULA announced in September 2014 that it had entered into partnership with Blue Origin to develop a new series of liquid oxygen and methane engines for a new first stage booster.

This announcement was followed one month later by ULA’s restructuring of the company and workforce to reduce launch costs by half due to increasing competition in the launch market from SpaceX.

It was also during this announcement that the company unveiled plans to blend its existing Atlas and Delta technologies to build a successor for the Atlas V rocket – again, with the principal goal being to cut launch costs in half.

While Wednesday’s announcement won’t include Vulcan until next year, ULA has opted to move forward with a new tool that enhances the way customers shop for launch services and sets a new standard for pricing transparency. The tool is a website that is accessible for both the customer and public alike, called www.rocketbuilder.com

ULA noted that the tool also provides insight into reliability, schedule assurance and performance, allowing users to make a true value comparison.

“The value of a launch is a lot more than its price tag,” said Tory Bruno, ULA president and chief executive officer. “Through our RocketBuilder website, customers are now empowered with pricing information that can be used to make decisions during their spacecraft development process, potentially helping customers keep program costs down. In addition, customers are able to build a rocket based on the needs they input, their spacecraft specifications and mission requirements.”

Users have the flexibility to select a launch date, the satellite’s orbit, rocket configuration and the customized service level needed for the mission. Finally, the site will capture savings in extra revenue or mission life, provide the true total cost of the specific mission requirements, and allow users to begin the contracting process.

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“Today the customer is going to be in the driver’s seat,” noted Mr. Bruno at a launch event in Washington, DC, opening an era when “which rocket/company do we go with” can be made in minutes, not months. He added the tool can allow companies and potential clients to look at cost trade off before they ever pick up the phone.

“RocketBuilder makes launch services more transparent and accessible to anyone, from students and teachers to current and future customers,” added Mr. Bruno. “This site continues ULA’s transformation to make space more affordable and accessible, and as we celebrate our company’s 10th anniversary tomorrow, there is no better way to underscore our tremendous progress towards a sub $100 million rocket launch service.”

In addition to building a rocket to meet specific requirements, RocketBuilder offers users an industry comparison regarding key value items only ULA can offer, such as unmatched reliability in the form of insurance savings, schedule certainty for increased on-orbit revenue, and orbit optimization with accurate satellite placement that extends the life of the satellite on orbit.

“Comparing not only the cost of a mission, but the important value items such as schedule certainty is critical for customers, especially our commercial customers,” added Mr. Bruno. “An estimated launch slip of just three months can cost a customer upwards of $12 million in lost revenue and $18 million of deferred revenue. ULA’s average launch date slip has been less two weeks for the past five years.”

Organizations that are in the earliest stages of designing or developing spacecraft will be able to use the information provided on the website to make decisions about their designs and the most cost-effective way to get to space.

“RocketBuilder not only educates our customers on the different launch service options and costs, it can also serve as an educational reference for students, teachers, or anyone with an interest in rockets and space,” said Bruno. “Ultimately, RocketBuilder will help drive down costs even further as customers are able to optimize the cost-effectiveness of their designs.”

In demonstrating the tool, Mr. Bruno played the role of a customer. Upon seeing a competitive price, he decided to make his payload heavier. RocketBuilder reconfigured it all for him, added a SRB, bigger PLF – and showed him the cost difference.

The pricing tool would typically be used by a commercial customer. ULA’s large role with government customers includes other requirements, such as classified facilities.

ULA still have some way to go to compete with the price of SpaceX launches. However, they are closing the gap and hold the claim of 100 percent mission success, which in turn plays into insurance costs. The savings on insurance was played out several times by Mr. Bruno.

He added that a few years ago an Atlas V 401 sold for $191 million. Now it’s $109 million. “We’ve streamlined, taken advantage of experience. It now takes half amount of time to build rocket in Alabama and 1/3 time for process in VIF and pad.”

A cited example of a total cost of even less was shown, resulting in Mr. Bruno adding: “$80million for Atlas V 401 makes very competitive, compelling market case when you’re able to finally see the true cost of lift.

“Prices are always going down. Now, there are a limited amount of launch slots, so you’ll have to trade off whether to wait for a lower price, if a slot will then be available when you need it.”

]]>Research on Space Station is “excellent”, faces a backlog of requestshttps://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/11/research-space-statio-excellent-backlog-requests/
Tue, 29 Nov 2016 20:32:04 +0000https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/?p=47999
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]]>While a great deal of attention was paid to ISS during its construction phase, the Station – a National Lab of the United States – has been entrenched in its all-important utilization phase for the last five years, hosting thousands of astronomy, astrobiology, and physical and medical sciences experiments. Now, so great is the research demand on Station that the Program is facing a backlog of research and development requests as well as a shortage of crew time for those petitions.

Station utilization efforts – science payoffs in space:

As part of a standard review process multiple times per year, the International Space Station Program presented a status update to the NASA Advisory Council (NAC) earlier this month.

During the review, the ISS Program specifically discussed aspects related to the utilization efforts of the Station’s resources for the numerous scientific experiments and investigations the orbiting lab was specifically designed and constructed to address and host.

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While that might seem like a significant number for the 6 person crew, Mr. Scimemi, along with NAC chair Wayne Hale, noted that Peggy Whitson’s presence on Station as Commander will be a boon to the management of the visiting vehicle cargo resupply schedule, the upcoming January EVAs, and the experiment/utilization schedule.

Dr. Whitson was specifically referenced because of her “exceptional management of the construction and utilization schedules” during the Expedition 16 increment, for which she was also Commander.

As Wayne Hill jokingly noted, “You just can never get Peggy to take time off. She really has set the standard.”

Regardless, the management of increment 50’s utilization time with the daily activities on Station comes fresh off an exceptional increment 49 accomplishment, which saw a rise in utilization activities on Station due in large part to a lack of EVAs and only one visiting vehicle.

As Mr. Scimemi noted, “The last increment … really did a great job doing a lot of utilization. And one of the main reasons for that is there were no EVAs and we only had one cargo vehicle come to the Station.

“So that crew [was] really able to focus on utilization during [that] increment.”

In fact, increment 49 was able to average 42 hours of crew time for utilization per week with an increment that largely only consisted of three crew members instead of six and also performed well above the planned crew utilization time every single week of the increment.

Mr. Scimemi not only attributed that to the lack of EVAs and visiting vehicles but also to planning.

“We’ve learned over the last several years now how to better schedule the crew on the things that are required for them to do. We’ve gotten better at jumping between what’s required for maintenance and the other daily crew activities with utilization.

“And we’ve been a lot better about scheduling the loading and unloading of cargo modules that have come to Station.”

This overperformance of utilization time in increment 49 continues a longer-term trend to continuously outperform scheduled utilization time.

“We’re consistently above our targets. We’re supposed to do about 35 hours per week; we’re doing well above that. Sometimes as much as 45. But most times it’s just around 40 hours,” noted Mr. Scimemi.

And all of this utilization time serves the primary roll the ISS was constructed to fulfill – an orbital platform for science investigation.

Continuing a trend to highlight for the NAC an on-going research initiative on the Station, Mr. Scimemi noted the soon-to-be-concluded Functional Immune Research investigation.

“This is an investigation that’s been going on for 13 years, … and we’re nearing the end of it.”

The final element of the investigation began in March 2014 with Expedition 39 and is set to conclude next year with Expedition 52.

“There are changes to the immune system in space,” noted Mr. Scimemi. These changes have “some negative implications in the physiological stresses, latent viral reactions, reactions to the immune cellular response and the like.

“So this is a big investigation with a big impact on exploration going to Mars and knowing what happens to the immune system and how we develop countermeasures to the immune system for long-duration spaceflight.”

Importantly, the research has implications on the ground for people who have immune issues, i.e.: cancer, persistent viral reactivation, chronic allergy/hypersensitivity, infectious diseases, and autoimmunity.

The research specifically focuses on changes to the immune system brought on by one of or a combination of isolation, psychological stress, altered nutrition, stress, microgravity, radiation, altered microbial virulence, altered microbiome, and circadian misalignment.

Importantly for Earth-bound humans, the Functional Immune Research investigation onboard Station “provides a unique view of the subtle changes in the immune system that may occur before symptoms present, which may help scientists pinpoint the onset of illness, and suggest monitoring strategies, or treatments, that can boost the immune system and prevent full-blown infections and diseases.”

Impressively, above and beyond the already on-Station investigations, the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) has recently signed agreements with both the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) for multimillion-dollar agreements to do Research and Development (R&D) onboard Space Station.

According to Mr. Scimemi, “NASA has had agreements with these organizations for some time, but they’ve been more or less dormant. And CASIS [has taken] those initial agreements and put some meat behind it and horsepower behind it and gotten agreements signed with both of these organizations.”

The newly signed CASIS agreements work on a scientist to scientist and project to project basis with the NIH and NSF – two immensely important research organizations in the U.S.

Through CASIS, Mr. Scimemi noted, NIH and NSF R&D has increased on orbit with 58 research investigations delivered to Station in Fiscal Year 2016 (1 October 2015 – 30 September 2016) alone.

Moreover, “They continue to request and are requesting more than their share of Station resources, like crew time and upmass. So they’re getting more requirements than we’re having resources available, which is a very good sign that they’re being successful.”

Also of important note is the backlog of research requests from commercial and government agencies CASIS has lined up for ISS.

According to Mr. Scimemi, CASIS’s “investor Network has increased to 33 investors, and many of these are investors who typically help out smaller companies, startups.

“It is very encouraging to see these investors actually taking chances with small amounts of money across a broad range of R&D topics onboard Space Station.”

Moreover, according to the ISS Program presentation to the NAC, the “ISS – National Lab (ISS-NL) CASIS project pipelines continues to attract and enable non-traditional space customers.

“Of the 34 projects selected for ISS-NL during FY16, almost half are new to space customers; more than 50% of FY16-selected projects are from commercial users; and the number of new commercial service providers for the ISS-NL continues to grow – up from 1 in 2012; 4 now on Station; 8 expected by FY18.”

]]>NASA has decided to end operations on the International Space Station Rapid Scatterometer (ISS-RapidScat) Earth science instrument, following attempts to return to life after a power issue. Despite the conclusion of its life, the instrument had already surpassed its original decommissioning date.ISS-RapidScat:

Once it completed checkout operations, it began its life studying the Earth’s ocean surface wind speed and direction, returning a lost capability when the SeaWinds scatterometer aboard NASA’s then 10-year-old QuikScat satellite experienced an age-related antenna failure.

ISS-RapidScat was a low-cost project, assembled from spare components left over from the development of QuikScat and ADEOS II.

It also measured of wind speed and direction over the ocean surface, with the data used by agencies worldwide for weather and marine forecasting and tropical cyclone monitoring.

Its location on the space station made it the first space-borne scatterometer that could observe how winds evolve throughout the course of a day.

“As a first-of-its-kind mission, ISS-RapidScat proved successful in providing researchers and forecasters with a low-cost eye on winds over remote areas of Earth’s oceans,” said Michael Freilich, director of NASA’s Earth Science Division.

“The data from ISS-RapidScat will help researchers contribute to an improved understanding of fundamental weather and climate processes, such as how tropical weather systems form and evolve.”

The agencies that routinely used ISS-RapidScat’s data for forecasting and monitoring operations include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Navy, along with European and Indian weather agencies. It provided more complete coverage of wind patterns far out to sea that could build into dangerous storms. Even if these storms never reach land, they can bring devastating wave impacts to coastal areas far away.

“The unique coverage of ISS-RapidScat allowed us to see the rate of change or evolution in key wind features along mid-latitude storm tracks, which happen to intersect major shipping routes,” added Paul Chang, Ocean Surface Winds Science team lead at NOAA’s Center for Satellite Applications and Research.

During its mission, ISS-RapidScat also provided new insights into research questions such as how changing winds over the Pacific drove changes in sea surface temperature during the 2015-2016 El Niño event. Due to its unique ability to sample winds at different times of day, its data will be useful to scientists for years to come.

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The end of its life was dictated by power failures. The first came on August 19, when a power distribution unit for the space station’s Columbus module failed, resulting in a power loss to ISS-RapidScat.

Later that day, as the mission operations team from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, attempted to reactivate the instrument, one of the outlets on the power distribution unit experienced an electrical overload. In the following weeks, multiple attempts to restore ISS-RapidScat to normal operations were not successful, including a final attempt on Oct. 17.

NASA – in a release on Monday – noted it does not currently plan to launch another scatterometer mission. However, the loss of ISS-RapidScat data will be partially mitigated by the newly launched ScatSat ocean wind sensor, a mission of the Indian Space Research Organization.

ISS-RapidScat was the first continuous Earth-observing instrument specifically designed and developed to operate on the International Space Station exterior. However, it was soon joined by The Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS) which provide cost-effective measurements of atmospheric aerosols and clouds in Earth’s atmosphere.

Two more instruments are scheduled to launch to the space station in 2017 – one that will allow scientists to monitor the ozone layer’s gradually improving health, and another to observe lightning over Earth’s tropics and mid-latitudes. Following that, two additional Earth science instruments are scheduled for launch in 2018 and 2019.

ISS-RapidScat was a partnership between JPL and the International Space Station Program Office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, with support from the Earth Science Division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Other mission partners include the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and its Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama; the European Space Agency; and SpaceX.

NASA collects data from space, air, land and sea to increase our understanding of our home planet, improve lives and safeguard our future. NASA develops new ways to observe and study Earth’s interconnected natural systems with long-term data records. The agency freely shares this unique knowledge and works with institutions around the world to gain new insights into how our planet is changing.

]]>After nearly one month at the International Space Station, Orbital ATK’s Cygnus OA-5 spacecraft marked the end to its mission with a destructive re-entry on Sunday. Following a resupply mission to the orbital outpost, Cygnus conducted experiments and deployed cubesats, prior a nominal end of mission.

Cygnus OA-5 – The “Alan Poindexter”

The OA-5 flight of the Cygnus resupply craft to the International Space Station has been a resounding success in many regards.

Riding atop the newly redesigned Antares launch vehicle and upgraded Castor 30XL upper stage, the S.S. Alan Poindexter was the first Cygnus to climb to orbit aboard the Antares 230 series variant rocket and the first Cygnus to successfully use the Castor 30XL solid propellant upper stage for second stage operations.

The Castor 30XL upper stage technically debuted on the Orb-3 mission in October 2014; however, with that flight’s mission-ending mishap just seconds after liftoff, the Castor 30XL was never used on that flight and therefore made its in-flight debut with OA-5.

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This traffic congestion had not originally been planned for, with MS-02 originally scheduled to launch in September 2016 with Cygnus following in early October.

However, technical delays with Soyuz and hurricane related delays associated with Hurricanes Matthew and Nicole – the former affecting the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) in early October and the later affecting the Bermuda tracking station in mid-October – pushed the two missions to the same week.

When Soyuz and Cygnus finally headed toward their respective actual launches, the timelines were too close to permit both vehicles’ rendezvous – from a three-person crew timeline perspective on Station – in the order of their launch.

Thus, Soyuz with crew was given docking priority despite launching two days after Cygnus.

After arriving at Station and being berthed to the nadir port of the Unity module, the ISS crew has spent the last 30 days unloading 2,342 kg (5,163 lb) of supplies from Cygnus and repacking the craft with 1,300 kg (2,866 lb) of trash for disposal via burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.

With OA-5’s berthed mission at an end, astronauts aboard the ISS and ground robotic controllers at MCC-H unberthed Cygnus from Node-1 nadir and set the craft free for the next phase of its mission.

After being cleared for unberthing by MCC-H, the vestibule between Cygnus and ISS was depressurized before the 16 bolts that secure Cygnus to the Space Station were commanded to “drive” to their release positions.

The 16 bolts were driven in two stages and physically disconnected Cygnus from the main structure of the ISS while the SSRMS (Space Station Remote Manipulator System) held the spacecraft firmly in the grasp of its snares inside the Latching End Effector (LEE).

Once the bolts were released, ground robotic controllers at MCC-H carefully translated Cygnus 10 meters away from the Station and eased it through a series of maneuvers on the end of the SSRMS to bring the Alan Poindexter into its proper release attitude.

Once Cygnus is in position, MCC-H gave a “go” to release the snares inside the LEE.

At this point, astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Thomas Pasquet released the SSRMS LEE snares, “letting go” of Cygnus and allowing it to fly under its own systems.

The release occurred at 08:22 EST (13:22 GMT).

The SSRMS was then translated away from Cygnus while the craft held its position relative to the Station.

During this time, controllers in MCC-H, Cygnus Mission Control Center in Dulles (MCC-D), and astronauts in the Cupola module of the ISS carefully monitored Cygnus for any signs of misbehavior.

Had Cygnus not behaved as intended, any one of the three control facilities could initiate an emergency abort procedure to quickly and safely back Cygnus away from the ISS – though the odds of this being needed are always slim.

With all going to plan, the SSRMS moved to a safe distance and ISS controllers in MCC-H and Orbital ATK controllers at MCC-D conducted a series of system checks prior to Cygnus’ opening departure burns.

Cygnus then fleww itself out of the Keep Out Sphere (KOS) of the Station before eventually departing the Approach Ellipsoid, marking the point where joint operations between NASA and Orbital ATK will end.

Orbital ATK’s controllers in Dulles then took control of Cygnus for the remainder of its Low Earth Orbit journey.

The inside of this special experiment module contains material samples commonly found on the ISS as well as those under selection for NASA’s Orion spacecraft.

Saffire-II, like Saffire-I, will continue to provide a safe way to study a realistic fire aboard a spacecraft.

Fire studies in space have been extremely limited in the past due to the potentially life-threatening nature of such experiments during crewed missions.

But the uncrewed and end-of-mission destructive nature of Cygnus flights provides NASA a real, safe, in-flight test bed for understanding how a fire works, spreads, and dies in microgravity while exposed to the various materials a spacecraft is built from.